Chapter 4

Lynn was surprised, relieved and maybe even a little disappointed when Jack didn't try to take her up to bed. She knew the night had been more than a mother and son dining out but she certainly didn't intend for it to go past the "fun" stage. For the next few days she had been apprehensive about how Jack would react to their "date" but she lost those uneasy feelings quickly when he acted no differently than he ever had.

Well maybe not entirely the same. Lynn noticed he rarely called her "Mom" anymore and he maybe hugged her a little more often and touched her in a casual way even more than usual. Nothing inappropriate, just a caress on the shoulder as he passed by, or rubbing her shoulder as they watched the holotank. Nothing overtly sexual, more like the acknowledged affection they had for each other demonstrated by the shared pleasure and closeness of contact. Lynn had always enjoyed it but now she consciously sought it out, at times deliberately going out of her way to go by him hoping for one of those reassuring and soothing caresses. It didn't take long before even a short-term absence made her short-tempered and irritable, almost like the touch of his skin was a slightly addictive drug.

When he was away at school or off doing some other job or project she actually watched the clock anticipating his return. Her greatest pleasure coming from the time they spent together, sitting on the couch snuggled together, she pressing as close to him as possible while he wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly to his side. Within weeks the mere thought of not having this alone time would cause her mild panic.

At least once a week he would take her out on another "date." Normally not to another upscale restaurant, although they did do that once in a while. Mostly it was out to a 'vie, or a concert, maybe just a trip to a pizza parlor and a walk around the local shopping center. It didn't really matter what they did together, she enjoyed it all, so long as she could be with him. Soon it didn't seem strange at all to be walking around holding hands window shopping or just seeing the sights.

The pleasure of his touch never seemed to lessen; it didn't matter if he was touching her or she was touching him. It always made her feel warm, comfortable and loved. She didn't feel that slight electric tingle anymore and she wondered if it really had been all in her mind but she didn't even bother to think about it any longer.

It didn't matter, she was happy. In fact she was as happy as she had ever been since the first days of her marriage. She had someone to take care of: the cooking, the cleaning, laundry, their house, everything a good wife, er, mother, was supposed to take care of. She didn't have to worry about money all the time since her man took care of that and he seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it. At least there always seemed to be enough now when she needed to ask for something. She had everything she ever wanted, right?

Well, not exactly. Lynn did seem to be having one problem that she thought had gone away long ago: she was horny! Lynn had always loved sex and even though her husband had been a company rep for both the Chicago and Northern Florida areas, meaning he was in town only about half the time, she had been able to make the most of that time with him and her toys took care of the rest. After he died it was like her sexual desire had been placed in the urn and buried right along with him. For years she hadn't had even a twinge and for the latest couple of years her infrequent urges were easily taken care of by her plastic man, quickly and quietly.

But that wasn't the case now. Maybe, she reasoned, it was because she didn't have the same worries she once had: the money was adequate, they were no longer in danger of losing the house and even though she was wearing the collar of an Indentured Servant it didn't bother her, not even a little bit. She did miss her friends a little, or at least the company and companionship. But seeing how quickly they had turned on her the moment the collar was snapped around her neck opened her eyes to the fact they were never really her friends, just acquaintances that she knew at one time. She realized she didn't miss them as individuals, just the company of other women. She wouldn't trade her time with Jack for anything, but it would be nice to have a little girl talk now and then.

But whether it was the lessening of the stress she had been under or just the healing time after her husband's death, the old urges were coming back with a vengeance. Masturbation was no longer a quick ten to fifteen minutes every month or so. Now it was a nightly marathon of sweaty grunting with the vibrators on high that still left her strangely unsatisfied after two or three orgasms. It just wasn't the same as having a warm body next to you, or above you, pounding you down into the mattress.

It was a problem for which she couldn't see any solution. The only man she was interested in having near her was off-limits for anything more than some cuddling and smooching on the couch. True, he did feature prominently in her fantasies during her nightly attempts at self-pleasure, but they were just fantasies, even if they did make her feel a little guilty afterwards. She rationalized that what happened inside her mind didn't really matter: it was harmless. Besides, thinking of Jack while she tried to vibrate her insides to goo made her feel better, much better! Finally she just tried not to think about it; it was just her lot in life and she would have to learn to live with it.

Everything moved along smoothly until early the next spring. Jack's eighteenth birthday was less than a week away and Lynn had no idea what she was going to get him. She wanted to make it special for him but couldn't figure out how. He didn't act like he wanted anything in particular; even her devious womanly wiles hadn't been able to wrestle that out of him. Maybe a party, but who to invite? He was pretty much a loner and didn't hang with anyone. He had kids he knew at school, but they were just that: people he know and nothing more. He didn't even have a girlfriend which bothered her on more levels than she wanted to admit. She was afraid he was lonely and not properly socializing, but then again imagining him with some little empty-headed, perky-titted bitch didn't add to her peace of mind at all. In general the whole situation frustrated the hell out of her and even Little Jack upstairs in her nightstand drawer (just a fantasy, right?) didn't help. In fact she had become so surly Jack again threatened to turn her over his knee and this time she was pretty sure he wasn't joking. Then one day the situation suddenly became nothing more than minutia.

"Mom? He started one night as they sat cuddled up watching a 'vie. The threatened spanking hadn't broken her out of her funk, mostly, but refusing to sit next to her had. Now for the most part she was mildly irritated that she couldn't think of something special to do for him on his birthday, but was resigned to cooking the best dinner she could and having a private celebration.

"Yes, hon?" she sighed without lifting her head from his chest.

"Did you ever really look at dad's estate and all the papers that came with it?"

"Not really," she answered with a shrug wondering what this was about. "It was just a bunch of insurance papers and instructions on what to do in case of death and that sort of thing. Everything was done through a blind trust; I never really looked at most of it. To tell the truth at the time I wasn't interested in much of anything except you and my own grief. Why? Was there something there that wasn't supposed to be? I assume since you're asking that you looked it over."

"You did say I could," he reminded her.

"I think I said it was in my deskcomp and that I probably couldn't keep you out of it," she laughed and sat up looking at him finally.

"Same thing," he said shrugging it off. "You're right, though. I did look at them and it seemed a bit strange to me. Almost like it wasn't all there. Did you know he owned a house in Florida?"

"No," she said, startled. "I don't remember that at all. I always thought he rented a place down there. He was down there so often he needed a base of operation, but owned? No, I didn't know that. How do you know? Have you been hacking into other people's comps again?"

"Not for that," he said deflecting smoothly. "All I had to do was a search on the public title records. He bought it about nine years ago and it hasn't changed ownership since."

"Well, that would be us, wouldn't it?" she asked. "You mean we own a house in Florida? Damn! I wish I'd known that; it might have helped out with the money a little. So we own a house in Florida; that's nice to know."

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that," he admitted and then cleared his throat. "I think I need to take a trip down there to find out exactly what is going on."

"What aren't you telling me?" she demanded.

"I don't really know," he said shaking his head. "And because I don't really know everything I can't tell you. I can tell you there's no money involved though; the house is about to be foreclosed on next month. It doesn't really impact us but I really think I need to go down there and find out what happened."

"We will go down there and find out what is going on," she said firmly.

"I don't think that a good idea," he said still shaking his head. "There are some things better left alone."

"Why not?" she demanded. She could tell that no matter what he said he knew more than he was telling her. "I have a right to know what has happened. He was my husband! Besides, if it were better left alone then why do you think you need to get involved?"

He had no answer for that and glumly agreed to have her accompany him. Silently he withstood her alternating pleading, whines, threats and attempts to guilt answers out of him as they packed for a couple of days in Florida. She finally resorted to the silent treatment which given her mood was no punishment at all.

"Do you think the trust company cheated us?" she finally asked him as they rocked toward St. Augustine in the Tube. She had tried breaking him down by not talking to him but seeing how that didn't work, her apprehension about what they would find and her natural curiosity got the better of her. They were sitting side by side as the attached cars flew over the magnetized rails inside the vacuum tube. The lack of wind resistance made the trip unnaturally quiet with only the hum of the induction coils and a gentle vibration giving them any sense of motion.

"The trust company? No, Lynn," he sighed. "I don't think they cheated us. To be honest even if they were inclined to do so the amount of money would have been so small it wouldn't be worth their while to take the chance of getting caught. Okay, I didn't want to say anything because I really don't know what exactly was going on down there, but you deserve to know something about what we may find. I think Dad was involved in things other than as just a rep. Things he didn't want us to know about."

"Illegal?" Lynn gasped. "I don't believe it!"

"I don't think it was anything illegal," Jack assured her. "Just things he didn't want us to know about, things he wanted kept secret enough to hide them behind a blind trust so that we wouldn't find out about them even if he died."

"That's crazy," Lynn protested. "What kind of things?"

"That's what we're going to find out," he said. They had been sitting there holding hands. Raising hers to his lips he kissed the back of her hand. "Just remember, Mom, no matter what we find, I love you."

+ + +

He had reserved an electric car at the Tube port and waved off her protesting the cost telling her it wasn't much more expensive than taxies or taking the public trams while they were there. It was a short ride to the hotel, the onboard navigator directing them through the city's tourist-packed streets. The hotel he had booked was a modest one with two large beds and a private bath. Lynn could sense Jack had said all he was willing to about what they might find and concentrated on enjoying the sights of one of the prettiest towns she had ever seen.

"Now I know why your father decided to work out of here," Lynn commented as they walked off their dinner. "It's beautiful."

"The weather sure beats the shit out of Chicago," Jack agreed.

"Jack!" she admonished. "Language! But I have to agree you're right, if maybe a bit colorful."

Tired, they returned to the hotel and prepared for bed. Lynn changed in the bathroom while Jack shucked down to his underwear. It's what he always wore, skin-tight shorts made of a tough, flexible material favored by athletes since it wicked away perspiration, protected the skin from chafing and yet protected the "package" from moving around during exertion. The only problem he had with it was it didn't leave a hell of a lot to the imagination so he quickly jumped under the covers in one of the beds before Lynn came out to do the same. He really didn't care if his mom saw him in his skivvies, but every night for years he had gone to bed with his cock hard as a rock thinking about her and tonight didn't seem to be any different. That, he wasn't prepared to have her see just yet!

Lynn came out of the bathroom in what she always wore to bed also, a long, man's tee-shirt that came down to just below her butt cheeks. Tonight she decided to wear her panties though since she was definitely not going to indulge herself in front of her son! Through half-lidded eyes Jack tried not to be obvious as he watched her walk over to turn out the light. Long shapely legs topped by a gently swaying ass and tits jiggling under the thin white material. Her long brown hair fell down over her shoulder and down her back and Jack's cock sprang to full and excruciating attention as he quietly groaned.

"Did you say something?" she asked as she slipped under her own covers.

"Uh, no," he muttered.

"Okay, goodnight, baby,"

"Goodnight," he mumbled back. The room was quiet for a few minutes with only the hum of the ventilation system making a sound until Lynn rolled over to look at him.

"Jack," she whispered.

"Hmm,"

"Are you still awake?" she whispered again.

"I am now," he said in his normal voice. "Do you need something?"

"I can't sleep," she said. "Will you hold me for a bit?"

"Sure," he answered and before he knew it she was out of her bed and slipping under his covers snuggling up with her back against his chest, pulling his arm around her waist. Her quick move surprised him, he hadn't expected her to actually get into the bed with him and now that she had there was no hiding his less than honorable thoughts about her. He had dreamed of this moment, plotted for it even, but this wasn't exactly how he had envisioned her finding out about his desire.

"Thanks, Jack, this feels so much better," she purred, wiggling back against him. Then she was quiet for a moment. "Jack, is that what I think it is? That can't be for me."